Big Sport forced to confront its relationship with concussion 'science'
PLUS: More stars who went out on top in The week That Was and the Weekend That Will Be.
The Paul McCrory plagiarism scandal is slowly but surely growing wings, with sports once beholden to his advice now walking back and distancing themselves from the former chair of the Concussion in Sport Group.
The AFL, the sport McCrory is most associated with having been a team doctor at Collingwood, for many years, has said it will review of his work and advice after finding that it was unable to answer key questions posed to it about concussion research he was said to have led for the governing body, or the evidence he used to inform concussion policies.
From the Guardian: “Associate Prof Alan Pearce, a neuroscientist who has conducted extensive research into the long-term effects of repeated brain trauma, said the decision to launch an independent review highlighted a major ’credibility issue’ within the AFL.
“Because since 2007 they have been claiming that they’ve been doing world-leading research and nothing has been shown to demonstrate that,” Pearce said. “Is this just rhetoric to kick the can down the road? It’s a science integrity issue. It dents confidence in all concussion science conducted by the Concussion in Sport Group.”
This was seized upon by neuropathologist Dr Willie Stewart as a chance for the wider sport community to examine its relationship with CISG.
Rugby is one of the sports that has used the CISG framework when setting concussion return-to-play protocols, though they have (disingenuously in my opinion) sought to distance themselves on the grounds that McCrory did no bespoke work for them.
“World Rugby can confirm that Professor McCrory has not been involved in any concussion projects or research undertaken by World Rugby and he has not been involved in any concussion working group that shapes policy for the sport in this important area,” it said in a statement.
The McCrory furore has travelled far and wide now, with the world’s most prestigious masthead devoting significant space to it this week.
Some notable passages of the New York Times piece include these scathing assessments of the CISG’s concussion consensus statement:
“It’s concerning because he’s taken the lead on writing a [concussion] consensus statement that is so influential, and we should have access to his insights,” said Kathleen Bachynski, who teaches public health at Muhlenberg College. “McCrory’s research agenda and published statements and work as an expert witness come from a point of view of minimising CTE.”
And:
“There’s no basis to say it’s a consensus, it’s a consensus of people who were given a lot of money to do this,” said David Michaels, a former assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the author of The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception. “It doesn’t mean they’re intentionally hiding the truth. But we know that financial self-interest blinds them to what’s there.”
And:
“There’s an insider cabal that the consensus statement enshrines in respectability,” said Stephen Casper, who has written about the history of head trauma in sports, was an expert witness for former NHL players in a concussion lawsuit and is a witness in cases against the NCAA, rugby league and rugby union. “The authors will all have the taint of McCrory.”
It is past time to acknowledge that the consensus statement is no longer worth the paper it is written on.
Start again, please, with truly independent scientists.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Following on from Ash Barty’s stunning decision to walk away from competitive tennis, I was forwarded some great names and anecdotes of others who left at their peak and while on top (or in proximity to the top) of the world. A couple of the names I did consider, like Nico Rosberg, but ruled out due to my own pig-headedness, but there were others with persuasive cases I completely overlooked.
Rosberg won a world championship with Mercedes in 2016, pipping teammate and temporary enemy Lewis Hamilton in the process. He promptly retired because he wanted to spend more time with his family and didn’t want his driving ability to atrophy. Many others, like me, thought he retired because he knew he’d been lucky to beat Hamilton, whose car had reliability issues earlier in the season, and in all likelihood never would again.
Regardless, he should have warranted a mention.
Staying with engine power, bike legends Casey Stoner and New Zealander Graeme Crosby were mentioned, as was the great Niki Lauda. Australian Stoner’s distaste for the media circus that surrounds MotoGP was made clear in the documentary Hitting the Apex, but he didn’t really disappear from motorsport, even spending a year on four wheels in the second-tier supercars series.
Crosby is a similar story. A terrifically versatile rider and two-time TT world champion, he was frustrated by the politics of the sport and quit in his 20s without a 500cc title (he finished second in his final season in 1982). He later took up touring car racing.
Lauda was a bona fide legend who retired twice from Formula One and if his second retirement came in 1984, the year he won his third title I could have bought it, but he had a shocking 1985 world championship that saw 11 retirements and one did not start across 16 races.
By my narrow definition, none qualify as a Barty-type departure but they’re nevertheless noteworthy.
A number of rugby players were mentioned. David Kirk, who lifted the inaugural World Cup then took a Rhodes Scholarship in Oxford, and Welsh wizard Barry John caught the attention.
Kirk would be ruled out because he wasn’t close to being the best player on his team, let alone the world, though his CV is mighty impressive.
John, on the other hand, could make a claim to being the best in the business when he hung up his boots aged 25. He had been flyhalf for the successful 1971 lions to New Zealand and helmed the dominant Five nations team of the day when he got sick of life in “a goldfish bowl”.
Some chipped in with a couple of golfers - Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam.
Ochoa retired as world No 1 in 2010, when she was just 28, a pup in golf terms.
“I didn't want to be out there [on tour], you know. I just was thinking of other things. I wanted to get home. I wanted to start working on the [Lorena Ochoa] foundation. I wanted to be [in Mexico] close to my family.”
Ochoa has played the odd event, but stayed true to her retirement.
Sorenstam, a 72-time winner on the LPGA Tour including 10 majors, retired in 2008 aged 38 when she was still one of the most dominant players in the game. She ruined everything (for me, anyway) by accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump, a day after he had tried to stage a coup.
Finally (and I’m sure it’s not actually finally, but for the purposes of this it is), Hamish Bond. If he didn’t retire as the greatest rower in the world he was very, very close. It’s easy to look at his age, 36, and think it’s the natural thing to do but the guy is not made of the usual stuff and there could be more to tell in his sporting story.
As for Barty, her call continues to shock and amaze. On the Guardian website alone, I counted four opinion columns, three news stories, two pull-togethers (one of player reaction, one her greatest moments), two video stories and one photo essay.
Segueing effortlessly to another Olympic hero, we have ‘Sir’ Mark Todd, bane of the RSPCA and poster child for the abolishment of archaic titles, has had his disciplinary case adjourned following footage of him attacking a horse with a branch went viral.
Todd, now a racehorse trainer, has been on interim suspension but an independent panel of the British Horseracing Authority was due to decide overnight whether his conduct was prejudicial to racing’s reputation.
Panel chairman James O'Mahony said there were “legal issues which required careful consideration” and a date for the new hearing has not been set.
Kenny McFadden might not have been the best American to have laced them up in the NBL, but none gave greater value to their franchise.
The Wellington Saints - I’ll always know them as the Exchequer Saints - were usually too good for Queen St Yamaha New Plymouth, or the BP Bears, or the Ivon Watkins Dow Bulls, or the Taranaki Oilers or whatever other horrendous names they called themselves before settling on the worst of the lot, the Steelformers Mountain Airs. McFadden was a big reason why.
His death was announced today and he’s a massive loss to the New Zealand basketball community.
He was one of the spearheads of the golden age of the national league in the 80s, an era that saw American talents like Angelo Hill, Ronnie Joyner, Clyde ‘The Glide’ Huntley, Jacques Tuz, Tony Webster, Willie Burton and Kenny Perkins transform the sport and take it from low-lit school gyms to low-lit community arenas.
I tried to find footage of McFadden’s greatest moment, an overtime three-pointer to lead his Saints to a 114-11 victory over Auckland in 1985, but no joy. That’s a shame because joy is what point guard McFadden brought to a lot of people.
What the hell are you up to, Daniel?
I caught myself at the Black Clash this past summer despite being an avowed detestor of festival cricket. Despite myself, I kind of enjoyed it. In many ways, cricket - non-contact, multi-disciplinary - is made for this kind of frivolity. One sport that definitely isn’t is boxing.
Watching two former oval-ball athletes slug it out in a ring qualifies as festival sport for me, especially when the barry hall part of the equation is in his mid-40s, no matter how hard people try to sell it as a serious event.
So really, if you’re disappointed you paid $40 for a couple of minutes, I’d reply with two words: caveat emptor.
THE WEEKEND THAT WILL BE
It almost feels like a Super Rugby restart - again. In that respect, what better way to re-engage than watch Beauden Barrett take the No10 jersey for the Blues against the increasingly desperate Highlanders.
Barrett told Newshub: “It’s lingering a little bit, it’s just my own personal case. It’s just taking quite a long time to get back to 100 percent.”
I’ve had Covid and even a month later I’m still struggling to walk up the hill to my house let alone be chased around a paddock by 110kg men, so I’m intrigued to see how this goes.
Highlanders v Blues, Dunedin, tomorrow 4.35pm, Sky Sport 1
The White Ferns World cup campaign got off to a dramatic start and effectively ended in a heartbreaking fashion last Sunday. As fate would have it, however, they had to stew in their juices until rain lashed the West Indies-South Africa clash and officially washed away any mathematical; miracle they might have held on to.
It was a poor campaign, albeit one of tremendously fine margins. There are, however, some incredible cricket-watching opportunities this weekend, starting in three venues today.
The Black Caps return to the field to play the Netherlands in a T20I that I hope will feature D Cleaver. All of us deserve that chance.
Meanwhile, the most turgid test series in living memory has inexplicably thrown up the chance for a dramatic conclusion with Pakistan needing 278 more runs with all 10 wickets in hand to beat Australia.
Sunday sees a critical final round-robin clash in the women’s World Cup, with India potentially needing a big win to beat the already qualified South Africa to win a place in the semifinals.
NZ v Netherlands, T20I, Napier, tonight 7.10pm, Spark Sport
Pakistan v Australia, day five 3rd test, Lahore, tonight 6pm, Sky Sport 3
South Africa v India, CWC, Christchurch, Sunday 2pm, Sky Sport 3
Against my better moral judgment, I will watch the Formula One Saudi Grand Prix. Yes, I am weak but hey, I’m not watching qualifying.
Saudi Arabia GP, Jeddah, Monday 4.30am, Spark Sport
We’re there already, aren’t we? Just a fortnight into the season and we’re in the dreaded must-win territory for the Warriors. To be scrupulously fair, there are teams that have been going worse than the Wazzas and one of them is the Tigers.
“It’s an important game for a number of reasons, but no more important than there’s two points up for grabs,” said coach Nathan Brown. “Obviously, when you’ve got two sides that are 0-2, there's a little bit more significance from a pressure point of view, no doubt.”
Happy days, bank the two points, move on.
Wests Tigers v NZ Warriors, Campbelltown, tonight 8pm, Sky Sport 4
As great a player as he was, would Daniel Vettori's coaching career stand up to scrutiny?
Kenny was one of sport's great storytellers check this out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYO6uXZQMSs&ab_channel=TheWebbWay